1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus adapted to cope with different specifications in various countries.
2. Related Background
With the rapid spread of facsimiles all over the world in recent years, it is required to easily cope with different power supplies such as 100V, 120V, and 230V and different public lines in various countries. Moreover, it is also desired that parts be easily molded and fabricated in any place as they are locally manufactured all over the world. Further, a facsimile structure on which it is easy to perform the maintenance work is also needed.
The conventional facsimile apparatus has a construction in which a plurality of molded top covers 32 and bottom covers 33 are mounted on a molded body frame 31 as shown in FIG. 9. In order to assemble such facsimile, a control circuit substrate 34 (including a system control unit and a network control unit) is first attached onto the bottom cover 33, and then there is arranged the body frame 31 on which units and electronic components are assembled so as to drop-in. In the course of this assembling, an input/output terminal 35 for circuits or the like is fixed to the far side (left side in the figure) of the bottom cover 33. Finally, the upper cover 32 and the like are mounted to complete the assembling.
There is a case where two different circuit substrate units, that is, a first and a second circuit substrate units are separated by the body frame. Under such condition, the first circuit substrate unit is electrically connected with the second circuit substrate through an aperture provided in the body frame.
For example, to electrically connect a power supply unit 41 with the control circuit substrate 34 during assembly, a first connector 42a located at one end of a connection cord 42 is previously coupled with a power supply connector 41a of a power supply substrate 41.sub.1, a second connector 42b located at another end of the connection cord 42 is passed through an aperture 43 from the left side, and then the power supply unit 41 is fitted into a receiving portion provided at the end of the apparatus body. And finally the second connector 42b of the connection cord 42 is linked with a control connector 34a of the control circuit substrate 34.
The operations for previously coupling the first connector 42a of the connection cord 42 with the power supply connector 41a and for inserting the second connector 42b of the connection cord 42 into the aperture are difficult to carry out by an automatic machine, and hence it is to be manually performed.
Accordingly, in the case where each unit is automatically assembled by a drop-in method, during the assembly of the power supply unit 41, the automatic assembling work has to be interrupted temporarily to perform a manual working. After that, the automatic assembling work is restarted, which leads to the increase in the number of working processes, resulting in an extremely insufficient and time-consuming assembling steps, and consequently brings about a raise in production costs.
This problem may arise not only in the case of the electrical connection between the power supply unit 41 and the control circuit substrate 34, but also in the case of an electrical connection between two circuit substrate units which are separated by the body frame, such as the connection between the control circuit substrate and other circuit substrate.
Further, on the body frame 31, there is provided a roll paper receiving section 40 which has hook apertures 40a, 40b for catches of a partition which differs according to the sheet width such as A4 and B4. It is therefore feared that through these apertures 40a, 40b foreign matters such as clicks and pins may fall to cause a short circuit. As an expedient, a net can be put up over the control circuit substrate 34 to prevent the foreign matters from falling onto the control circuit substrate 34.
Moreover, as to the facsimile apparatus, there are needs to correct due to assembling defects and to check the control circuit substrate 34 to perform maintenance in the market. In this case, the conventional facsimile apparatus requires extremely time-consuming work in which after the removal of the upper cover 32, the body frame 31 loaded with the units or electronic components has to be raised so as to turn in the direction of R around a shaft 36 to execute the checking operation of the control circuit substrate 34. In addition, in case of a change in specifications, the once assembled apparatus has to be disassembled and then reassembled.
In order to solve such inconveniences, the bottom portion of some facsimile apparatus serves as a bottom cover 37 capable of opening and closing as shown in FIG. 10.
In such an apparatus, the body and the side wall are integrally molded as the body frame 38, and then sheathed with the bottom cover 37 and upper cover 39. To this bottom cover, there is provided the control circuit substrate 34 of which dimensions are extremely restricted, which results from the fact the lower end of the body frame 38 is of a very thin section due to the draft angle, leading to the difficulties of molding. In other words, providing the height h above the substrate 34 is required to be 30 to 40 mm, an end x.sub.2 of the body frame 38 becomes extremely thin to be liable to cause a defective molding. The reason is that in view of the mold structure the draft angles of at least 3 degrees for the external surface S and at least 1 degree for the inner wall T must be provided due to the graining or other processing. On the contrary, unless the section of the body frame 38 is uniform, there arise sunk spots and welds, and hence it is impossible for the thickness x.sub.1 to be larger than 3 to 4 mm, which leads to a smaller x.sub.2. Accordingly, the apparatus body having such structure has not been manufactured in practice, but instead a construction as shown in FIG. 11 is employed. This facsimile apparatus has at its bottom portion a baggy portion 38a to overcome the above disadvantages. Because of not only doubling the thickness of the end but also need of the thickness x.sub.3 for a core die, the substrate space x.sub.4 is smaller for the size of the apparatus.
In consequence, when a speaker or other large-sized electric components are arranged on such facsimile apparatus, the apparatus body becomes even larger.